Vending machine



June 29,1948, J, R, LE 2,444,219

VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 28, 1944 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 James K C/etrgmw June 29, 1948.

J. R.. CLEM VENDING MACHINE 3 sheets sheet 2 Filed Feb. '28 1944 W W a June 29, 1948. J. R. CLEM 2,444,219

I VENDING MACHINE v i Filed Feb. 28 1944 1 v Sheets-Sheet s Patented June 29, 1948 UNITED STATES e optics" VENDING MACHINE James R. Clem, Dallas; Tern. Applicati'onFebrnary 23, 1944, ScriaLNo. 524,192

2 Claims. (chem-4c) Thisinvention relates to new and useful improvementsinvendingmachines.

One object of" the invention is, to provide an improved'vending machine which is particularly adapted to dispensea quantity of' bottled goods; such "as carbonated beverages of various flavors.

A particular object of'the invention is to provide an improve-d'vending machine having aplurality' of chambers or compartments for receiving a stack of bottles, together with a conveyor for receiving the-bottles from the compartments and conducting the same to an outlet opening through" which said bottles are discharged from the machine; each compartment-being disposed at sin-inclination to the vertical so as topermit storage of a greater quantityof bottles in a minimum space and thereby" utilizing the weight of'said bottles to feed the same to the conveyor by" gravity Without placing an excessive weight i upon-the bottles carriedby said conveyor;

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved vending machine'which maybe coimcontrol-led= and" having an improved manuallycoperated ejector mechanism for dispensing one bottlef-rom the unit" upon" each operation thereof; together with an improved coin-receiving mechanism adapted "to ooact with "the ejector mechanism to preventactuation ofthelatteruntil acoinhas been inserted in the coin mechanism Another object ofthe-i11ventionis to provide an improved vending-machine, of the character described, having an improved ejectorwhich is actuated bywthemanual movement" ei-"a leverin oneadirectionzto dispenseia single bottle; together with ax, coacting: locking mechanism for normally preventingzgactuationof the -motor: by the lever; the :mechanismzoitthe ejectorsbeing so constructed that itheiinitial movement of: the lever, upon insertion of wawcoin. iactsthrough the-coin .toirelease the lockving, mechanism: and permit actuation of said i ejector by continued .movementtot-said lever.

.A. further .obj ectoi the; invention -is-; to provide an improved. vending machine, 1 of the character described, wherein. the. vertically-inclined bottle compartments are formed'by a plurality of. pivoted plates:or partitions whereby accessto said compartments for-refilling -the same is readily had by=-manually swinging the partitions upon their pivots; each compartment having I a" pivoted closure at=its=lower portion "for enacting with the bcttles supported therebeneath by the conveyor to prevent'thedisshargeofthe bottle in said compartment; wl'iereb ythe compartments are emptied in: predetermined order" and the bottles from oneicompartinent cannot be discharged therefrom until allof the bottles from the preceding compartmenthave-been discharged and no bottle is supported beneath the pivoted closure of said compartmentby the'conveyor.

Still another object of the invention istoprovide-an improved vending machine; of the character described, having means actuatedby the discharge of one of the-lastrbottles from-the'lastemptied compartment for actuating a coin return mechanism of the usual construction.

A construction designed to carry out the inventicn will be hereinafter described' together with other features of th'e invention;

The invention will be more readily. understood from a readingof' the following specification-and by reference totheaccompanying drawing; wherein an exampleof the invention is shown; and wherein:

Figure l is an-isometricview=of a Vending metchine, constructedin accordance with the-invention, and having a portion of its-casing-brolen away *to show the interior constructicn'thereof',

Figure 2 iis an enlarged,- isometric view showing the construction of the operatingmeohanlsm,

Figural? is an enlarged, transverse; vertical, sectionalview: showing the relationship of the operating'and loching'mechanisms and illustratingcthe' actuation of: said a locking mechanism by means of. an'insertedcoin,

Figure 4-iis a transverse; vertical, sectional view; taken atzaright angle to Figure 3, and, further illustrating therelationship of the operating and lockingsmechanisms,

Figure 5 isaview, similar to F'igure'3, showing the. ,operatingmechanism. upon complete actuation'ithereof,

Figure. 6. a. longitudinal; vertical sectional view of. .aiportion of: the=vending machine, and

Figure, 7 an enlarged elevation showing: the lower portion of one: of -'.the1compartments of one ofthebottle receiving units.

Inathe drawings, th numeral .lflidesignates' a casing on cabinet which is shown as. substantially rectangular-and which has its interiori'd'rvided' into an upper or cooling chamber [land a lower cham, her 13. The cabinet may have its/walls con.- structed iofi a-suitable insulating: material in 1 the usual manner: and its chambers are separated from 283.611 other by a horizontal partition I l which forms the floor of the upper chamber. Thelcwer chamber I 3 has the'usual'refrigerating equipment (not shown) mounted therein,- whilea plurality of bottle receiving units A are adaptedto be mounted within the coolingchainber 12; only one ofwhich-is shown. The number of units will between the units A for receiving and storing the bottled. goods prior to their introduction into the units A and this compartment may receive a portion of the refrigerating equipment, such as cooling coils and fan (not shown).

Access to the interior of the upper chamber l2 may be had through a hinged door 16 formed in the top of the cabinet. The door I6 is provided for the purpose of introducing the bottled goods into the chamber l2 and the bottles are ejected.

from said chamber through a pair of openings I! formed in the front wall of said cabinet. A downwardly-inclined chute I8 projects through each opening. IT and terminates in a suitable receiving trough I8a, the chute and opening being normally closed by a hinged flap E9, of rubber or other flexible material, as shown in Figure 6. The closingof the chute i 8 by the flap is prevents the escape of cold air from the interior of the, cabinet and said flap is adapted to be swung outwardly by the weight of a bottle falling downwardlythrough said chute.

Each bottle receiving unit A is of identical con struction and, although only two units have been indicated, it is to be understood that any desired numbermay be employed by merely increasing the size of the cabinet l0. Asis clearl shown inFigures vland 6, each unit includes a pair of side plates and 2! which are disposed in spaced, parallel relation to each other. A plurality of tie bolts or rods22 fasten the plates Ziland 2| to eachother and aredisposed adjacent the lower end of the unit. For fastening the unitsto each other, an elongate tie rod or bolt 23 extends transversely across the upper portion of the chamber l2 through the plates of each unit and at the forward and rear ends of said chamber. The quantity and dispositon of the tie rods 22 is, of course; subject to variation and depends entirely upon the size of unit A. An elongate, flat plate or partition 24 is pivotally connected at its lower end to each rod 22 by means of central hinge members 2 21 and extends upwardly to the top of the unit. Each partition 24 is of greater length than thedistance between its rod 22 and the top of, the unit so as to project there-above when disposed in a vertical plane. For supporting each partition at an inclination, the upper end thereof is bent upon itself and receives an elongate pin 25 which is of a length greater than the width of said partition, whereby the ends of the pin project transversely beyond the partition and engage the upper ends of the plates 20 and 2|. Thus, the partitions 24 divide the space between theside plates into a plurality of vertically-inclined chambers ;or compartments 26, each of which is adapted to receive a stack or row of bottles.- It is noted that the forwardmost partition engages and is supported by one of the elongate tie bolts 23 and does not include a transverse pin 25...

For. supporting each row of bottles to prevent a premature discharge thereof, a pivoted flap or closuremember 21 is carried by each tie rod 22 with the exception of the rearmost compartment." Each closure member 21 has a flange 21! at each side thereof which flanges extend at substantially a right angle thereto and which are pivotally connected to the tie rod. As is clearly shown in Figure 7, the flanges 2' are bent upon themselves around the tie rod to form hinge members having openings 2'12 which are vertically elongate or oval in transverse section, whereby said flanges are loosely connected to the tie rod and permit transverse movement of the closure member relative to said rod. .Due to the provision of the hinge members 2M and 2', the closure members and partitions are movable independently of each other. Each closure member may be of less width than the space between the side plates 20 and 2| and, when swung upwardly to a horizontal supporting position, is below the row of bottles within its respective compartment so as to support said bottles and prevent the discharge thereof (Fig. 1). In this position, the closure members are adapted to overlap each other with their flanges 2H vertically disposed and the tie rods 22 in the upper ends of the hinge openings 212. Each closure member is adapted to be swung downwardl by the weight of the bottles thereabove so as to. permit the discharge of said bottles and may be moved manually upwardly to facilitate filling of the compartments as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

For receiving the bottles as they are discharged from the various compartments 26, a conveyor C is mounted within the lower portion of the unit A immediately below said compartments. The conveyor includes a pair of spaced sprockets 28 which are secured upon a rotatable shaft 29, one shaft with itssprockets being suitably supported at each end of the unit and, preferably, having its ends journaled in the side plates 20 and 2| of said unit. A pair of continuous or endless chains eilpass over the sprockets 28 and carry a plurality of cylindrical rollers 3i, of rubber or other suitable material, which are rotatably connected to and extend transversely between the spaced chains. The bottles which are discharged from the compartments 26 fall downwardly onto the conveyor C and are carried therealong by the rollers 3| thereof to the forward portion of the unit and cooling chamber. The conveyor has its discharge end disposed immediately behind one of the chutes I8 in the forward portion of the cabinet as shown in Figure 6, whereby the bottles may be discharged from the conveyor outwardly through said chute.

, The distance between the upper run or flight of the conveyor and the pivoted flaps or closure members 21 is such that when a bottle is supported by the rollers 3| upon said upper flight,

said bottle will engage the underside of the flap or closure member thereabove. Thus, the closure member is held in a position supporting its row of bottles, as is clearly shown in Figure 1, whereby the bottles uponthe conveyor are utilized to maintain the closure members 2'1 in a position preventing the discharge of bottles from the compartments 26. For maintaining the upper flight of the conveyor in a horizontal plane so that the rollers 3| of said conveyor will be evenly spaced from the closure members, a platform 32 is suitably secured to the plates 20 and 2| beneath said upper flight and said rollers engage and roll upon the upper surface of the platform. With the foregoing arrangement, the row of bottles within the rearmost compartment 26 (not shown) of the unit A is first discharged onto the conveyor C and the bottles upon said conveyor maintain the closure members 21 of the remain,

ing compartments. in. .a position supporting the bottles therein. Ashas been hereinbefore set forth, -this.rearmost...chamber has its lower end constantly. open due to the OmiSSiOILOf. the 010-. sureimemher. I

Aftertherearmost row of bottles :has been discharged from its compartment and said bottles have-been movedforwardly. by. theconveyor past'. the: adjacent compartment, the flap or closure memher zfl of, said adjacent compartment permitted to swing downwardly topermit the discharge; of the bottles therefrom. While this compartment .is being relieved ofits contents, the remaining or forwardly-disposed compartments are prevented from. discharging their bottles because solongias bottles remain upon the conveyor, the closure; members of these compartments are maintained in bottle-supporting position. It is only; when all of; the rearwardlyrpositionedbottlestthave been moved forwardly by the'conveyor past .the next. flap or closure memberthat the same is permitted'to swing to an open position and 'therebyallow thedischarge of bottles from the next, compartment. In this manner, the'bottles :uponthe conveyor are utilized to coast with the closure members '21 to maintain the same in a position supporting the remaining row of bott-les: within the compartments 26. It is manifest that the bottles are discharged in a predetermined order from the compartments, the rearmost row being the first to be ejected and the remaining rows being discharged in consecutive succession or sequence.

As the conveyor Cis-moved forwardly toward;

the dischargechute [-8, the bottles carried thereby arealsomovedforwardly. The forwardmostbottle will finally drop or fall from the end of the conveyor as the chains 30 of said conveyor move around the forward sprockets 28. As this bottle leaves the conveyor, the neck of said bottle en gages a suitable pin (not shown) so as to swing its base forwardly toward the trough l8 andthe subsequent forward movement of thetbottle may be guided by suitable deflecting means (not shown). Although not illustrated, the chute It may be cushioned with flexible or resilient mate rial, while'the passage of'the bottle through said chute is retarded by the flexible flap I9. Manifestly, the usualtrough l8a receives and supports each bottleasit is discharged through the chute,

The conveyor C isactuated in a step by step manneriythatds, said conveyor is moved a predetermined distance upon each operation. When the conveyoris stationary, a bottle is .positioned adjacent the inner endof, the chute l8, as is shown indottedlines in Figures 1 and 6. Upon actuation of the conveyor, this bottle falls therefrom.

and=is discharged through the chute. Each operation of' the conveyor moves the next bottle into position immediately adjacent or behind the inner end ofthe chute.

It is, of course, preferablethat the operation ofg'the conveyor be manually. controlled and that the manual control, inyturn, be locked against operation until the proper coin is inserted. For driving, the forward sprockets 28 in order to transmitmovement tothe conveyor, the shaft 2.9. upon. which. said sprockets are mounted has a. reduced sprocket 33 secured. to the inner end thereof.. And endless chain 34 connects the sprocket; 33 with a drive. sprocket. 35 which i carriedlbysone: end ora Stub-P3113351; 36; the chain extending; through openings 31: formed in. the:

forward wall oil the cabinet in as is best shown in Figure 2. Thesprocket 35 and its stub-shaft 36 aredisposed within a smallihousing or casing 38 whichis secured to=the forward'wall ofwthecabinet H1 at the centralportion thereof. As is clearly-shown in Figure 4, a suitablebracket m1: isiprovidedi within the housingv 38.for supporting the stub-shaft 36. For imparting rotation-to theshaft .36 andits sprocket 35, an actuating memher or lever 39 has one end thereof journaled upon saidshaft so as to .be freely swingable rela tive thereto. The lever- 39 includes an arm 40 which projects radially fromthe shaft and which has a spring-pressed plunger or pin 4| mounted therein. A clutch wheel or element 42 is keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft 36 and is formed with a plurality of radially-extending shoulders 43; the outerperiphery of the clutch element being arranged so as to gradually curve-from the base of the face of one shoulder to the high pointof the adjacent or next shoulder and therebyprovide a plurality of lobes 44 as is best shown in Figure 5. The spring-pressed pin 4| is adapted to constantly engage the periphery of the clutch element 42 whereby, when said pin strikes one of the shoulders 44, counter-clockwise rotation will be imparted to said element as Well as the shaft 33 upon movement of the lever 39 in a.

similar direction. However, movement of the lever in a clockwise direction will merely result in a depression of the pin 41 and movement of the same over the lobes 44. Thus, an overridingclutch arrangement is providedwhereby rotation in only one direction may be imparted to the stub-shaft and its drive sprocket 35. Although not essential, it is preferable that the clutch element 42 be housed within the lower portion of the lever arm 40 which surrounds a portion of the shaft and is journaled thereupon.

For swinging the lever 39 so aS to impart the desired rotation to the shaft; an operating rod 45- extends laterally at a right angle from the upper end of the arm 46 through an arcuate slot 35 formed in one sidewall of the housing 38. Thus, by grasping the rod 45 and swinging the sameforwardly in a counter-clockwise arc, the arm 40 will be swung in a similar direction to bringabout acoaction between the pin M and clutch element 42 so as to rotate the sprocket 35 and thereby impart a forward movement to the conveyor C each time the lever is actuated, a bottle is ejected through the chute It in the front wall of the cabinet. A coiled spring 4'! connects thearm 40 to tlie'cabinet forward Wall for maintaining the lever in an upward, non-operating position with said arm in engagement with a suitable stop member or lug tii; whereby the spring willreturn said lever to its non-operating position upon release of the rod :15. Uponthe lever being swung back to its non-operating position, the sliding of the pin 41 over one. of the lobes M of the clutch. element 52 functions to disconnect saidv lever fromthe shaft 36. Therefore, nomotionis im parted to the conveyor C upon reverse movement, of the actuating lever.

In'order to controlthe operation of the actuating lever 39; a locking mechanism is associated with the shaft 33 and includes a cam wheeled!) which i keyed or-otherwise secured'to said shaft as shown in Figure 4; A- plurality of radiallyextending shoulders 51!..areformedon thelperiph' cry of the cam wheel 49, which periphery is to the high point of the adjacent or next shoulder As iS so as to provide a plurality of lobes clearly shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, a springpressed plunger 52 is mounted above'the cam wheel in a suitable rectangular block or casing 53 which is carried by an upright, transverse plate or partition of the housing 38 and which also contains the usual coin rejection mechanism (not shown) When the cam wheel 49 is rotated by counter-clockwise rotation of the shaft 36, one of the shoulders 50 of said cam wheel will strike the plunger 52 so as to prevent rotation of the cam wheel and shaft as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Thus, the shaft cannot be rotated in a counterclockwise direction until the plunger 52 is retracted so as to be moved upwardly out of the path of the contiguous shoulder 59, whereby its lower end will ride upon the adjacent clockwise lobe 5| as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. This upward movement of the plunger permits counterclockwise rotation of the shaft by swinging of the actuating lever 39, which rotation also rotates the cam wheel so as to move one of the lobes from beneath said plunger. Since the lobe curves inwardly to the base of the adjacent, clockwise shoulder, the movement of said lobe from beneath the plunger permits ejection of said plunger into the path of said shoulder (Fig, 5) for preventing subsequent counter-clockwise rotation of the shaft 36 upon the lever 39 being returned to its original position. Due to the pro vision of the clutch element 42 and the springpressed pin 4|, the cam wheel remains stationary upon the return of the lever to its non-operating position.

The plunger 52 is adapted to be retracted by a coin which is inserted into an inclined coin chute 54 disposed in the housing 38 and having its lower portion extending through the casing or block 53. As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the lower end of the coin chute terminates adjacent the plunger in a horizontal slot 55 formed in the bottom of the casing 53 and extending forwardly to the front of said casing. The plunger extends downwardly past the slot 55 and has a lug 55 projecting laterally therefrom into said slot in close proximity to the lower end of the coin chute 54. Upon a coin being inserted in the coin chute;

it falls downwardly into the slot behind the lug 56 as shown by the dotted line 5'! in Figure 3. The lower surface of the lug is bevelled upwardly and rearwardly as shown at 58 for cooperating with the coin. In order to move the coin forwardly into engagement with the bevelled lower surface of the lug, a circular disk or wheel 59 is journaled upon the shaft 36 and is of such diameter as to have a portion thereof disposed within the slot 55, the casing 53 being recessed rearwardly of said slot as shown at 6| to accommodate the disk. As is clearly shown in Figure 4, an annular. spacer collar 6B, which is also journaled or freely rotatable upon the shaft, serves to connect the disk to the lever arm ti! and is riveted or otherwise fastened to both said disk and arm. Thus, the disk 59 is rotated simultaneously with the swinging movement of the actuating lever 39 and independently of the shaft upon swinging of said lever in a clockwise direction. An arcuate recess 62 is formed in the periphery of the disk for receiving and supporting the inserted coin in the slot 55 behind the plunger lug 58 when the actuating lever is in its non-operating position.

It is noted that thespring-pressed pin 4| of the lever arm 40 is spaced a slight distance, in a clockwise direction, from the contiguous shoulder 43 of the clutch element 42 when the lever is in its non-operating position as shown by the dotted line in Figure 5. This spacing permits a slight movement of" the lever and the disk 59 prior to engagement of the pin ii with the cam element shoulder 43.

Upon a forward swinging movement of the lever 39 with a coin supported within the recess 62 of the disc 59 so as to be disposed in the slot 55 behind the plunger lug 56, said coin will be moved forwardly in said slot and into engagementsaid clutch element, the shaft 36, its drive sprocket 35 and the cam wheel. Thus, one of the lobes 49 of the cam wheel is moved beneath the plunger for maintaining the same in its retracted position and permitting continued counter-clockwise rotation of the shaft and its connected parts by outward and downward swinging of the actuating lever (Fig. 5). As has been hereinbefore explained, the rotation of the sprocket 35 results in a similar rotation of the sprocket 33 which drives the forward conveyor sprockets 28 for imparting a forward movement to the upper flight of the conveyor C, whereby a bottle is ejected through the chute l8 formed in the forward wall of the cabinet. Since the spacer collar 6|] rigidly connects the disk 59 to the arm 40, the continued outward swinging of the lever rotates said disk in a counter-clockwise direction and moves the coin past the plunger lug 56 and out of the slot 55. Upon leaving the slot, the coin is directed toward and falls into a coin box or receptacle 63 which is locked within the lower portion of the housing 38.

Due to the provision of the clutch element 42 and the positioning of one of the cam lobes 5| beneath the plunger 52 prior to the release of the coin, it is manifest that release of the rod 45 before completion of the outward swinging movement of the actuating lever will not result in the premature locking of said lever. Thus, actuation of the conveyor 0 and the delivery of a bottle is assured upon each insertion of a coin. Each unit A includes a coin return mechanism for returning an inserted coin when all but the last few bottles have been discharged from the forwardmost bottle compartment 25. A is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 6, a lover or arm 64 projects radially from a transverse shaft 65 through a vertical slot 66 formed in the forwardmost partition 24 so as to extend into the forwardmost compartment 26. The shaft 65 is suitably journaled in the side plates 20 and 2| of the unit A and has a rod 61 secured to one end thereof at substantially a right angle so as to project diametrically beyond opposite sides of said shaft. 'A suitable cable or wire 68 connects one end of the rod 61 to a'suitable coin rejection mechanism (not shown) disposed within the housing 38,- while the opposite end of said rod is fastened by a coiled spring 69 to one of the tie rods 22. Due to the provision of the spring 69, the shaft 65 is constantly urged in a counterclockwise direction so as to project the lever 64 egregate through the slot 66 inthe forwardmost compartment 26 asshown in Figure .6. With the coin return mechanism in this position, :thedrejection mechanism within the housing 38. is arranged to reject coins "inserted in the chute 54 and direct the same to a suitable opening I formed in the forward wall of the housing 38. However, when bottles are disposed within "the 1 fowardmost compartment 26 as shown in Figurel, the lever 64 will be depressed and swung forwardly so asto rotate the shaft 65 in a clockwise=direction This mutation of'the shaftpivots the rod 61 in-asimi- 'lar direction so as to pull or move the-cable B8 rearwa'rdly, thereby rendering. the rejection mechanism. within the casing 53 inoperative. Thus, a coinwill be received to permitactuation of. the lever 39 whenever there are only a few bottles remaining in the forwardmost compartment'26 (Fig. 6) and said coin will be returned .to the operator by means of the openinglll upon the ;-discharge of all except one bottle from said compartment (Fig. 6).

In filling each unit A, access to the interior of the cabinet I0 is obtained through the door l6 whichisprovided in thetopof said cabinet. The upperflightct the conveyonCis-filled with'bottles by inserting one bottle beneath each closure member and between two adjacent rollers 3 l. Due to the provision of the hinge openings 212, the 010- sure members 21 may be lifted to permit passing of the bottles over the rollers and thereby eliminate the necessity of operating the conveyor in order to properly position said bottles. Of course, this insertion of the bottles is accomplished by swinging the partitions 24, with the exception of the two forwardmost partitions, upwardly and rearwardly and then placing a bottle beneath the forwardmost closure member. This swinging of the partitions is permitted due to their free upper ends and the pivotal connection of their lower ends with the tie rods 22. The forwardmost compartment 26 may then be filled with bottles and these bottles are supported by the closure member 21 which is held in its horizontal closing position by the bottle previously placed upon the conveyor therebelow. The adjacent partition is then swung forwardly, a bottle is inserted beneath the second closure member and the second compartment may be filled. Manifestly, the remainder of the conveyor and the remaining compartments may be filled in a similar manner upon the forward swinging of the partitions which form their respective walls. It is noted that the bottles used in filling the compartments may be obtained from the pre-cooling compartment IS, with the result that fresh, un-cooled bottles may be placed in this precooling chamber instead of directly into the compartments 26.

As the first bottle is removed from the conveyor, the travel of said conveyor is sufficient to bring the next bottle to position ready for discharge upon the next subsequent operation. This travel of the conveyor also moves the rearmost bottle on said conveyor from beneath the rearmost row of bottles within the last compartment, thereby permitting the next bottle to fall from said compartment onto the conveyor. Therefore, another bottle is automatically fed onto the conveyor C upon the discharge or ejection of each bottle and the upper flight of said conveyor is kept filled at all times. After the last bottle from the rearmost compartment falls into the conveyor, it is carried forwardly by the subsequent travel of said conveyor. As soon as this last bottle moves from beneath the flap or closure member of the ill) adjacent compartment, said closure member is permitted to swing downwardly and rearwar-dly and 'the row of bottles within'said compartment 'is free to'fall'by gravity ontothe'convey-or. This next rowof bottles is thenffed in succession onto the conveyor until the entire 'row is depleted. When thelast bottleisdischarged from this compartment and moves from beneath the closure member of the next'c-ompartment, said memberis permitted to swing downwardly and re-arwardly to permit'dischargeoftherow of bottles within the next-compartment] Thus, the bottles are discharged 'from the various compartments in an orderly sequence, beginning with the rearmost compartment andcontinuing forwardly untilthe bottleswithin the forward compartment are finally discharged fromtheunit. Due to the coaction of "thebottl'es on the conveyor with the various closure members '21, it is impossible for one compartment tobe relieved-of its'contents until the bottles havebeen -discharged from the preceding compartment. The entire 'feedingof the bottles onto the conveyor is by gravity and since the compartments are relatively shallow, 'that is, only arelativelyfew bottles are disposed in each compartment, an excessive weight is not placed onthe lowermost bottle which is supported by the conveyor. The inclination'ofthe 'compartments'also materially-reduces the total weight imposed upon he lowermost bottle of each compartment. The elimination of this excessive weight provides for an efiicient gravity feed without the danger of binding or breaking the bottles.

As has been hereinbefore set forth, each unit A is adapted to receive and store a particular bottled beverage and by providing a plurality of units, a number of bottled beverages may be dispensed from the same cabinet. An actuating lever 39, coin chute 54 and coin return opening in are associated with each unit and thus, any of the levers may be selectively actuated to obtain the desired beverage. Since the units A are of identical construction, the manufacture and assembly of the same is facilitated. The space or compartment I5 between the units not only permits the mounting therein of a portion of the usual cooling mechanism so as to cool the interior of the upper chamber I2, but also provides a pro-cooling space or area for the reception of bottles prior to their insertion within the various compartments of said units. By employing the inclined, pivoted partitions 24, the supply of bottles within each unit may be readily as well as rapidly replenished without any danger of breaking said bottles. The inclination of the partitions permits the storage of a maximum quantity of bottles in a minimum amount of space and reduces the weight placed upon the lowermost bottle of each compartment whereby frictional resistance is held to a minimum and an efficient gravity feed is P vided.

It is also pointed out that the bottles, in being carried forwardly by the conveyor, are actually rolled between the lower surfaces of the closure members and the rollers of said conveyor. Thus, the bottles revolve in a clockwise direction upon their forward movement and there is substantially no frictional resistance to such movement.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a vending machine, a plurality of compartments for receiving articles andhaving discharge ends, a flap at the discharge end of each compartment for closing the same and retaining articles therein, a transverse pin and slot connection for pivotally mounting each flap, a conveyor in spaced relation to the discharge ends of the compartments, the articles on the conveyor 00- acting with the pivoted flaps to prevent the discharge of articles from said compartments, whereby each pivoted flap is held in a position supporting the row of articles in its compartment until the adjacent portion of the conveyor is void of articles, after which the articles may feed from said compartment onto said conveyor by gravity, each slot extending at substantially a right angle to the direction of travel of the conveyor to permit manual movement of said flaps away from said conveyor and flaps upon filling of the machine, and means for discharging articles singly from said machine.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein each flap is angular and has an upstanding portion bent downwardly upon itself to provide an elongated opening, the pin engaging within the opening to pivotally support the flap.

JAMES R. CLEM.

12 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I Name 1 Date 481,280 Kibby Aug. 23, 1892 823,955 Meredith June 19, 1906 986,490 Morris Mar. 14, 1911 1,106,265 Whittle Aug. 4, 1914 1,119,683 Cayo Dec. 1, 1914 1,200,775 Stevenson Oct. 10, 1916 1,403,599 Goudeau Jan. 17, 1922 1,580,594 Fried Apr. 13, 1926 1,619,999 Wright Mar. 8, 1927 1,848,248 Fry Mar. 8, 1932 1,947,999 McCormick et al. Feb. 20, 1934 1,966,689 Seyl July 1'7, 1934 2,020,373 Petzold Nov. 12, 1935 2,117,302 Darman May 17, 1938 2,358,563 Donaldson Sept. 16, 1944 2,407,402 Clem Sept. 10, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 363,509 Great Britain 1931 

